This is our first insight on new regulation that will affect the district/communal heating and cooling sector. It focuses on consumer protection and the impact on building owners/landlords and management companies. Our second insight to be released shortly will focus on the regulations that will affect new property developments and in particular those in “Heat Network Zones”. The district/communal heating/cooling sector is to be fully regulated in the UK as from late 2023/early 2024. Consumer protection is at the forefront of the changes. Heat/cooling suppliers (entities contractually obliged to provide heat/cooling) and heat/cooling network operators will need to be “authorised” to carry out those activities. Heat/cooling networks, for the purpose of regulation, will comprise direct heat/cooling networks and communal heat networks. From early/mid 2024 OFGEM will oversee and enforce requirements opposite heat/cooling suppliers and heat/cooling network operators in respect of: authorisations to carry out those activities; reliability of the supply of heating, hot water and cooling; the reasonableness of charges for those supplies; reduction of emissions of targeted greenhouse gases generated by heat/cooling networks; and plain communication to customers about services and charges. This will impose a significant regulatory burden on a sector that hitherto has been able to operate in a broadly unregulated environment. Many building owners, landlords and management companies will – perhaps unwittingly and unwillingly - fall into the category of a regulated heat/cooling supplier or heat/cooling network operator. If so they will need to keep abreast of the evolving regulatory landscape, review their current arrangements to check regulatory compliance and if required create an action plan to ensure compliance.

In the third and final blog in our series looking at common queries on the roll out of EV infrastructure (see our previous blogs on progress and challenges and landlord and tenant issues) we focus on construction, planning and tax aspects.